Draft-gear.



W. D. FORSYTH.

DRAFT GEAR.

' APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, 1913 1,1 30,387 Patented Mar.2,1915.

A n l/ ,0 Lex w ,0 16 9 a i Q g4 644TGNESSZS INVENTOR WILL mm. 0. FO/F'S/T/l 0 wrLLrAm n. ronsYrH, OF YoUNcsTowN, OHIO. ASSlGNQR To RAILWAY PRQDUGTS CORPORATION, or BUFFALO, NEW YORK, a COB ORATIMI or ew Year;

RAFT-se n To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM D. Fonsr'rn, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Youngstown, county of Mahon ing, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Draft-Gears, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in draft gears.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a' construction in draft gears which will cause compressed air and springs to cooperate to take up some of the motions of cars when started and stopped.

My invention consists, among other things, of a draft gear, the construction of which provides for the use of compressed air and springs in cooperation with one another to absorb and regulate the motion of bodies of cars when 'starting'and stopping and in the devices and constructions hereinafter more specifically described and claimed.-

In the accompanying drawing, which forms part of the specification, and in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 isa horizontal section through a draft gear embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the draft gear shown in Fig. 1 with the springs removed; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of a plate and cylinder forming part of the draft gear; Fig. 4. is a side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an end elevation of a follower plate and-piston forming part of the draft gear; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 5.

In the draft gear which I have shown as embodying my invention, a draw bar 1, the coupler end of which is not shown, is fastened by rivets 3 to a yoke 2. Mounted within the yoke 2 are two follower plates 4, each having an integral piston 5 extending toward each other. etween the pistons 5 is a plate 7 having integral cylinders 6 extending in opposite directions therefrom. The plate 7 is disposed so that when the end of one piston 5 is near the bottom of one of the cylinders 6, the end of the other piston 5 is near the open end of the other cylinder. Mounted in the plate 7 are check valves 8, each communicating with the closed end of one of the cylinders 6. The check valves'8 may be of any suitable construction which w' prevent escape of air from the cylinders 6, but will allow air to enter said cylinders.

Specification of Letters liatent.

Application filed December 4,1913. Serial no. were.

In the side wall of each cylinder 6 is constructed a groove, 9, the bottom of which is incllned, so that its greatest opening is at the edge of the bore at the'open end of said cylinder 6, said groove graduallydisappearing n the sides of said cylinder before it reaches the closed end of said cylinder.

Spiral springs 10, 10, are placed around the ends of cylinders 6, 6, and around the pistons 5 as shown in Fig. 1. The springs 10 press the follower-plates 4 against the yoke 2 and the rear end face of the draw-bar respectively, and thus cause the pistons 50f said follower-plates to follow the movements of said yoke. The plate 7 is fixed with relation to draft sills 11, 11, by cleats 1 2, 12, 12,

. 12 afiixed t0 Said sills by rivets 13.

When'a car to which said draft gear is attached is suddenly stopped, the piston 5, next to draw-bar 1, is driven into the bore of the adjacent cylinder 6, and as it passes into said cylinder the air escapes through the inclined groove 9 until the piston completely fills the bore of said cylinder, when the air is compressed within the cylinder, affording a cushion which opposes further motion of the car. While the compressed air is thus opposing the motion of the car, the movement of the follower-plate7 is also compressing spiral spring 10, surrounding the same, and the cylinder 6. Thus the compressed air in the cylinder and the spiral spring are coiiperating to oppose the motion of the car involved in the stopping of the same. The reverse of these operations takes place in the remaining cylinder 6 and in the.

spiral springs surrounding the same, the valve 8 permitting the ingress of air into said cylinder as the piston 5 is being with drawn therefrom.

When the draft gear hereinbefore described is used upon a car and the car is stopped, about the first opposition that there is to the thrust caused by the stoppage of the car on the car itself is the resistance of the cushion of air being compressed by the movement of the piston in the cylinder next the. drawhead. At the same time the spring mounted on the last mentioned cylinder more slowly takes 11 the opposition to such thrust and finally oth are coiiperating to oppose it. At the same time the cylinder next to the yoke end and away from the draw-head is having its iston withdrawn and is filling with air an the spring upon that cylinder is extending, so that when the recoil which always takes place, happens, the recoil is cushioned first against the air in the cylinder last mentioned and upon the spring mounted upon said cylinder, and they together then co-act to resist the recoil, until finally, by the repeated action of the draft gear, the efiects of the thrusts and recoils are absorbed without undue shock. When the car is started, the shocks of initial pull and the recoil connected therewith. are absorbed in the same way,

The draft gear herein described is particularly effective in taking care of the recoils occurring in the starting and stopping of cars. I

' What ll claim as my invention is:

1. in a draft gear, a plate secured to the draft sills of a car and having cylinders with open ends projecting therefrom in opposite directions, a draw-bar yoke, followerplates mounted within said yoke and each having a piston adapted to enter one of said cylinders, a spiral spring mounted between each follower-plate and said plate and surrounding the corresponding cylinder, saidfollower-plates following the movements of said yoke, the lengths of said cylinders and said pistons being such that when the end of one piston is near the bottom of one cylinder the end of the other piston is near'the open end of the other cylinder, said pistons operting to draw air into said cylinders and to nieces? thereof, said pistons being adapted to enter said cylinders and being arranged so that when one piston is near the bottom of one cylinder, the other piston is partly out of the other cylinder, an opening communicating with each cylinder and restricting the exhaust of air from the cylinder during part of the movement of said piston in entering said cylinder, said opening terminating a distance from the bottom of'said cylinder,

and a check valve communicating with each cylinder near the bottom thereof and adapted to prevent the escape of air therefrom while permitting the entrance ofair.

In testimony whereof l have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM ll). lFQRSYlll-IQ Witnesses:

M. E. Trroinas, d F. Germans. 

